Born is the King of Israel

Ohhhh! I just love Christmas! Of course, I've obviously been too caught up & busy to write my blog for 2 weeks!! I've missed telling everyone so much!

First, Brady went to his first movie on Dec. 6th with me, Josh & Kendall and all the rest of Josh's unit in Hoover. We went to see A Christmas Carol. It was okay. What I really focused on was how Braden enjoyed himself. I think we're officially okay to take him to movies now because he did WONDERFUL! He sat through it quietly & pretty still. Which is saying a LOT for Brady. Well, around the time the 2nd ghost showed up to visit Scrooge, Braden had climbed up in his daddy's lap and fallen asleep. It was sweet, a very good first time movie experience.

When we left the movies we went to the Christmas Tree farm in Fultondale and picked out our tree for the year. It's become one of our family traditions and it's something the kids really enjoy. They have reindeer, free hot chocolate & apple cider, free wagon rides, Santa's sleigh (for picture taking) and acres & acres for the kids to run around. We got a gorgeous tree! I'll have to finally get some of my pictures uploaded to my computer and post them for everyone.

This weekend should be fun. Saturday my friend KB, her kids & hubby are coming over and we're going to have a Polar Express PJ party. Our boys, Ben & Braden are best buds and we're going to let them sit and watch Polar Express w/hot chocolate and enjoy themselves. Buddy Ben & Buddy Braden (that's what they call each other) will probably end up watching part of the movie and then running around & playing with toys for the rest of the night, but they'll have fun and that's what matters! Then Sunday it's time to go to my Grandmother's house for Christmas!! Yay! The festivities have begun!!

OH! And I'm off work the entire week of Christmas! Yay me!

Dec. 17th 2009-

I have always thought of Christmas as a good time; a kind, forgiving, generous, pleasant time; a time when men and women seem to open their hearts freely. God bless Christmas!

-Charles Dickens

It's SNOW fun waiting...

I sometimes have trouble remembering what the magic felt like at this time of the year. Leave it to your child to remind you. Brady has taken to asking me everyday since Thanksgiving day, "Is it Christmas today?". As your typical 4 year old, he seems very excited about Christmas and the presents. I've decided to write a little Christmas book especially for him, focusing on Santa and how he's a follower of Christ and focusing on the reason we celebrate and give gifts...hopefully he'll understand a little more that Christmas isn't really about material gifts, but the gift God sent to all of us. We'll see how it works. This week he's also turned his focus on Christmas music and snow. YES, snow! He asked me this morning "Mommy, will it snow for Christmas?". I had to explain to him that it doesn't snow very much here, and we probably wouldn't get any for Christmas. I think he tuned me out. I'm pretty sure he'll ask me about snow again tonight. And after seeing the rest of the weeks forecast, I'll get to tell him we may see a little snow this weekend! Just look at this forecast I got from ABC 33/40!!!

This weekend we'll be spending time with Josh's unit. They've got a "family" drill planned. This is his drill weekend, but they'll have special things going on that the whole family can get involved in. I know Sunday they are supposed to have a theatre rented out so that we can all (kids included) go see A Christmas Carol, the newest CGI/Cartoon remake w/Jim Carrey. I'm looking forward to that, and if we get to go it will be Brady's FIRST movie. I think it's completely appropriate. A movie w/the Army families, and a classic like the Christmas Carol...seems the perfect time for Brady's first movie.

Happy & Thankful

I just adore Thanksgiving. This holiday is wonderful, if for no other reason than it's all about giving thanks, remembering your blessings & spending time with those people you love. Obviously we've got great reasons to love Christmas, but sometimes those reasons get lost in the stress and busyness of the holiday season. Thanksgiving is just low key, and it's easy to be grateful and calm. I like to list off the things I'm grateful for, so that's what I'll do.

I'm grateful for:

**My kids, because God couldn't have blessed me more.

**My husband, because even when I want to smack him in the head-I know that he's doing his best to make our family better, and he's always trying to make sure I get the things that I want (who couldn't appreciate that?)

**All the rest of my extended family...because even on a bad day I couldn't have asked for a better support system.

**My job. I may complain about money, my position (or lack of movement UP the ladder) and other random things that I deal with daily. But the truth is, I'm so very lucky to have a job.

**My friends, who consist of some of the most loyal, loving, kind people I've ever come across in my life.

**Other randoms:

Corridor X - taking time off my travel 5 days a week.

Trampolines - making it easier to workout AND I get to spend quality time with my kids.

Books - Because when you get a good one it truly does take you away from everything for a ttle while.

Girls Nights/Days - Hanging out with ONLY girls is sometimes a necessity to maintaining sanity.

Cameras - Because I can review the photos and videos that have been taken and remember those little moments with total clarity.

Here's a few random pictures that I've saved and thought I would share. They are all of South Highland Presbyterian in Downtown Birmingham:

Nov. 25th 2009-

Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name.

-1CH 29:13

God Bless America!

We've had a really good couple of weeks! 2 Saturday's ago I went with my mom & friend Terri to the Southern Magic Readers Luncheon. A bunch of published romance authors and a ton of readers get together and listen to a couple of great speakers and eat some really good food...OH, and a BUNCH of good baskets to give away. It was fun, as always! I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to read. In fact, this year I won a wonderful basket by Beverly Barton. Beverly writes suspense/thriller/mystery types. She's a great author. In fact, my friend Terri loves her and last year won a "Name in a book" contest. So, Beverly's book that will be released in February will feature a character named Terri Owens. And I've gotten my name in Kelley St. John's book "To Catch a Cheat". It's a very neat to read your name in a published book.

Wednesday was Veteran's Day (of course) and Josh took off work to keep Brady and take him, for the 2nd year, to the Veteran's Day Parade. I also decided to take 1/2 a day off work and met my boys for lunch and then we rode downtown for the nations OLDEST Veteran's Day parade (thanks mom, for that informational tidbit). Braden got his own American flag and a big thing of cotton candy and he was completely entertained by all the people in the parade. Oh, he really loved marching with the soldiers and bands. Here's some pics...

When we got home we were met by a very nice couple that adopted our next to last puppy. Since then our last puppy has been bathed and now resides in an extra crate in our laundry room. He was very lonely with out his brother, but he's doing better now. Lets hope we find him the perfect home, this poor baby deserves it.

Okay, Saturday I took Kendall downtown for her pictures with Jaclyn. We went roaming around town and took a ton of pictures. Kendall looked so pretty, I can't wait to see them...and I can't WAIT to show everyone!!

Nov. 16th 2009-

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

-Thomas Jefferson

Fall is Falling

What I love about fall...the colors, the cool air, football (duh) and family get togethers (which are coming up soon). I am so glad I'm not sweating all the time anymore! Josh, Kendall, Braden & I had a great Halloween weekend. The kids had so much fun dressing up and going to our friends Jay & KB's house for trick or treating and hay rides. This was after having a mommy-Braden day on Friday. We actually went back to the Pumpkin Patch with my friend Jaclyn & her little boy Eli. We had a lot of fun and Brady finally got to do this bungee thing that he wanted to do last time. Unfortunately the long line & price kept him from being able to do it when we went a week ago. I was proud of him, they took him as high up as it would go and he just loved it. He's such a little daredevil. ...here's a few pictures:

We also took several good pictures downtown on Sunday, but I don't want to share all of those yet because I've got to decide which picture(s) to use for our Christmas card, and then I'll share some of the others with everyone. Jaclyn did SUCH a wonderful job!!

So this weekend... I've got the RWA Reader's Luncheon in Homewood and then Sunday we've got my dad's birthday party. WOOHOO! Always nice to have fun things going on!

Nov. 2nd 2009-

Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen,Voices whisper in the trees, "Tonight is Halloween!"

-Dexter Kozen

My favorite pic from Sunday

BEFORE PHOTOSHOP

AFTER PHOTOSHOP

Tailgating, Weddings & Pumpkins

I've been away for a couple of weeks because I can barely keep up with my own life right now, not to mention updating everyone else! Quick updates: Friday night we carved 2 small pumpkins for the kids. Braden's is a puppy dog & Kendall's is a bat.

Saturday morning we got up early and went to Tuscaloosa. Brady & Kendall got to experience their first tailgating experience. They REALLY enjoyed themselves. Braden ran around on the quad with his football. He would throw his football in the air and let it hit the ground so he could land on it like he was recovering a fumble. Kendall enjoyed sitting and hanging out with the grown ups. I forgot my camera, so unfortunately no pictures for Saturday.

After tailgating for a little while we walked to our car and drove a little down the road to board the Bama Belle riverboat for my friend Brank & Melanie's wedding. It was a nice, small wedding and a very enjoyable ride on a riverboat. Braden & Kendall thought it was pretty great.

Sunday we got up and went to the pumpkin patch in Hayden. Luckily I did remember my camera this time! Brady slept the entire way home.

Oct. 27th 2009-

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

-George Eliot

More babies & birthday's...

Well, just when we think we've got things on track, we might even kid ourselves into thinking we've got things figured out...something changes, some new obstacle gets thrown in your path. Our newest obstacle is 9 puppies. Another stray animal has decided to drop her babies off in our yard. Momma & 3 babies have been missing for a few days, so I think they are gone off together, but that still leaves us with 6. Thankfully plenty of friends have sent emails to everyone they know to help us find these babies homes. And tonight we found a home for 2 of them. YAY, we're down to 4! So if you know some one who wants a sweet puppy call me!

Also, tomorrow is Kendall's birthday. Goodness, it's so hard to believe that she's 11 years old. When I first met her she was 5. She's so laid back, quiet, shy & sweet. It's hard to believe she's Josh's (ha, just kidding). We seem to have a new "thing" we do for her birthday. We take her to the mall and just shop for her. She loves it (obviously she's ALL girl, LOL). This year she bought some clothes. A new Twilight shirt, some cute jeans & tops from Justice for Girls, and to show that she's still just a little girl...she bought a new stuffed animal (a Webkinz to be exact) and some Funkeys (little teddy bear looking things that hook up to the computer for her to play different games). But of course, being the pre-teen that she is, she bought some Bath & Body Works scents too. All in all, this kid made out really good! I'm sure I'm forgetting something too!! Finally, we ended the night with dinner at O'Charleys. It's her favorite, of course. She had fun, and of course that helps to make it a HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY.

Step Out - Walk to Fight Diabetes

{Some beautiful pictures of random places we saw downtown}

Last Saturday was gorgeous! And luckily both the kids woke up and got ready with minimal fuss and we met ou ACIPCO Wellness team downtown at the McWane Center right around 7:45 a.m. The walk/run started right at 8:30 and the 5K walk just flew by! Unfortunately, Josh had drill this weekend and they wouldn't let him out of it, so he missed out on the run! I knew Brady wouldn't make it the entire way, so I borrowed my friend Jaclyn's jogging stroller and Kendall walked right beside me. We had plenty of good company, including three ladies right behind us that got into a conversation with Brady. Of course, Brady was happy to chat their ears off. Both the kids did great and wehn we finished they got to jump on the inflatable bouncy thing, got their faces painted, picked up some coloring pages and even grabbed some free yogurt. They both said they had a lot of fun. I can only hope that it will encourage both of our kids to be active adults and possibly healthier than their parents! Not to mention the fact that they are a part of soemthing that gives to a good cause, which is definitely important.

{Kendall, Me & my buddy Vicki, Brady}

Good kids that turn into even better adults, that's what we want.

Sunday was cloudy/rainy & cold. We just watched Harry Potter, cleaned house, moved furniture around (well, Kendall & I did) and generally laid around. GREAT times! Ha!

Oct. 11th 2009-

The day a child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise.

-Alden Nowlan

Busy, busy, busy! That’s how we’ve felt for the last several months. Luckily I don’t think we have too much going on this weekend, besides, surprise, surprise…it’s supposed to rain. Who wants to deal with driving all over the place when it’s raining?
Well, last weekend was great. My mom & I had a girls only day. We took off work and went to lunch together and went to see a movie. We went to see All About Steve with Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper. It was cute! Once a year mom and I have a day like that, and it’s always nice to take a vacation day and spend it with each other.
Saturday was a great day too. Brady stayed with my mom & dad so Josh and I went tailgating in Tuscaloosa for the Alabama vs. North Texas game. I know, I know…we’re Auburn fans which means more than a few people would want to disown us for wearing crimson & white a few times a year, but we really do love Alabama football, just not as much as we love Auburn (WAR EAGLE!). This was also our friends KB & Jay’s first Alabama football game so it was fun to be a part of their first experience in T’town! Of course, we made it to Tuscaloosa around 8 a.m. and it was RAINING!! We love tailgating with our friends Jaclyn & Kevin though so it was not a big deal. We survived the day and had such a good time! We made it home that night in time to watch the Auburn vs. West Virginia game. Which of course Auburn won, AWESOME!
Sunday was much more laid back. I went to my Grandmother’s house for lunch and picked up Brady, and Josh went to his parents house to put up a new light and ballast in their dining room. What a good son he is! Now if he’ll put up my new light fixture in our dining area (something he’s been putting off for months), I’ll be happy too!
OH! One more week and Josh, Braden (possibly Kendall) and I will be doing the 5K run/walk Step Out – Walk to Fight Diabetes. I’m excited!! Josh has been a drill sergeant this last week or so helping me get in shape (not just for the 5K, obviously). He’s EVIL, in a loving way. Ha! We’ll run a mile and then do circuit training while running another mile. It’s working though, he’s lost 25 lbs in the last few months and he’s actually got definition in his abs and I’ve lost 5 lbs in the last week. He’s a very good physical trainer. He encourages yet pushes you hard to complete things. I’ve been a bundle of aches and pains for a week now, but I’m also counting myself lucky that I have such a determined, strong husband.

The Million Dollar Band warms up where we tailgate.

Me & KB Jay & Josh

Sep. 25th 2009-
Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.
-Vince Lombardi

Had to share these

Here is a video of the last time that we went swimming, which was about 4 weeks ago. Brady has gotten brave and I had to show it off to everyone. :)

Goodbye Summer.

As always there's been a lot going on and it's been just enough to keep me from blogging the last few weeks. It's been nice to be so busy though. I got to scrapbook w/the rest of the Sassy Scrappers for the first time in 2 months a couple of weeks ago at Mt. Olive 1st Baptist church. I'll have to share a few pics of the new pages I've done for Brady's scrapbook. Dina w/Close to My Heart came by Saturday morning and did 4 pages with us. They turned out awesome! I used all 4 pages to cover Brady's latest birthday party.

Ignore the fact that I've still got more pictures to add to these pages. I've got the hardest parts finished. :)

Then of course last weekend was a wonderful long weekend. Our plans Saturday got cancelled because of rain, but my parents came out to the house on Sunday and had lunch with us and then Monday we went to Josh's parents for lunch. All in all it was a nice weekend.

Extra Tidbits:

Brady's teacher told me last week that he's definitely the most imaginative kid in the class. That's doesn't completely surprise me after some of the stories that I've heard he's told friends & family. I wonder what bad things he tells his teacher since I've heard some of the stories that his imagination creates. Let's just say he watches too much COPS.

Kendall is doing good in school so far. Unfortunately she had some virus or something for about a week straight, but she's better. I'm glad she's never sick at our house, Brady hasn't been sick in almost 2 years and I'd hate to break that record right now. Her birthday & party are coming up in a month and like every other pre-teen girl out there she's going to have a Twilight party. She tried reading the 1st book this summer, but it literally took her 2 1/2 months and she still had about 50 pages left when it was time for her to go back to her mother's house for the school year.

AND, Josh left Thursday for Ft. Jackson, SC. He spent 2 days packing and then spent 2 days out there waiting for his training class to start just for them to tell him that they didn't have enough room for him in the class. SOOO, he's on his way home right now. I'm really glad about that too. I miss him when he's gone. He'll have to go back and try again in November, but at least I get him back home for now. Well, while Josh has been preparing for this class since July that's also included losing weight. In 3 months he's lost about 25 lbs. He makes me sick. And I mean that in the nicest, most loving way possible.

Finally we'll be having a busy month of October. October 3rd we'll be doing Step Out - Walk to Fight Diabetes. It's a 3 mile walk at the McWane Center. Last year Brady & I got to participate in the Walk for a Cure that benefits the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund. This year we won't be able to do that one, so I'm glad our whole family will be able to do this walk! Then the 10th of October is Kendall's party. October 24th we'll be in Tuscaloosa for the AL vs. TN game and also a wedding. I can't wait for Braden (& hopefully Ken) to experience game day in T-town. Then of course, the next weekend is Halloween...so like I said...it's going to be a busy October. Hopefully I'll make it through September!

Sep. 13th 2009-
Goodbye summer, hate to see you go. I wasn't ready for autumn winds to blow...My heart is frozen in this place, waiting for another summer's day to bring you back my way.
-India Arie

Adventures on the River

Finally! We went whitewater rafting down the Ocoee! It truly was a BLAST! Our guide was good (although I still think he was too skinny to lift any of us back into the raft if we had fallen) and not a single one of us fell out of the boat! Which was very important to me. Ha! Josh & Kevin were our paddlers at the front of the boat, dad & Audrey were in the middle and then Jaclyn & I were at the back with our guide. We managed to do so well through the rapids that our guide was actually getting us to paddle opposite directions so that our boat would spin in circles as we went through the rapids. Now that was cool! We all got soaking wet and actually me, Josh & Audrey jumped in the water for a short swim. Our guide did a couple of show off moves, including one where he jumped on to a large rock as we went by it and then ran up the rock and jumped off into the water beside us. All that excitement made the time on the water go by so quick! I think next time we’ll do a full day down the river and do the Upper & Middle Ocoee. I also want to take the kids down the Hiwasee. They’d enjoy that I’m sure. Here’s a couple of pictures we managed to get:

Also, on Sunday I was watching a little bit of the Travel Channel and on Samantha Brown’s Great Weekends she was in the Smoky Mountains where she was going…what else… whitewater rafting! AND, she was using the same company we used! Of course she was on the Nantahala though. Next year I think Josh & I with some of his friends are going to go on the Nantahala.
Here’s one I found of Samantha…

Aug. 27th 2009-
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
-Isaiah 40:31

Whitewater & Fine Art

Wow, it’s been 2 weeks since I blogged. Plenty has happened since then, so I’ll sum most of it up. My birthday was good. It was on a Thursday, so of course I worked all day. Josh did really good. I love to scrapbook, but haven’t been able to afford a large tote for all my stuff, so that’s what he got me! (Good job hubby!) Friday, my girlfriends and I went out to eat after work. Obviously, it’s hard to beat a night of good food and even better friends (okay, so-so food & really great friends).

Then there was last Friday night when Josh, my friend Bonnie & I all went to the final Art on the Rocks at the Birmingham Museum of Art. This was so fun! Bonnie and I made some new friends (and after our 2nd glass of wine we realized that all of our names end with the E sound…Cyndi, Candi, Jennie & Bonnie…wow). We also did a museum scavenger hunt where the prize was a piece of jewelry from Bromberg’s. We didn’t win, but we sure did have a good time hunting. Then we ended up at Speakeasy where Bonnie was meeting a friend. We stayed for awhile and talked, but we rarely stay up late anymore, so we had to leave and go home to bed.

this is us at Speakeasy AFTER Art on the Rocks.

This weekend is going to be great too! One of the things that I wanted for my birthday was to go whitewater rafting, since I’ve never been. So Saturday morning me, Josh, my dad, Audrey, Jac & Kevin are all going to meet up and go rafting down the Ocoee. We’re using the Nantahala Outdoor Center right outside Cleveland, TN. I can’t wait!!

Aug. 20th 2009-

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.

-Mark Twain

One last party

UUGGHH...I love birthday's, but I have a feeling that I'm done enjoying mine. I've got mixed feelings about turning 29. Sure they're saying 30 is the new 20, but who are they kidding?! If I ever see some 30 year old acting like they're 20 I'd laugh! So, anyway...29 years ago at 1:12 a.m. (sorry mom) on Thursday, Aug 6th I was born at Brookwood Hospital. Well, at least I have dinner with the ladies to look forward to on Friday. And lunch with my family this weekend. It'll be good. I guess I just need to enjoy the last 365 days that I have left as a twenty-something and prepare myself for true adulthood...THE 30's!! LOL!!

Aug. 4th 2009-
A diplomat is a man who remembers a ladies birthday, but never remembers her age.
-Robert Frost

Party Animals!

We had so much fun on Sunday! Of course the days leading up to the party were busy, but Sunday was worth it! It was a lot of fun!! Braden got a new bicycle for his birthday. His first REAL bicycle. He looked like such a big boy on it. We couldn't wait for the party so we went ahead and gave it to him on Saturday afternoon. Of course, we were all so excited about the new bike that we then HAD to go to the park and ride our bikes. He's learning how to pedal, but right now he has to stretch his legs as far as he can just to be able to keep it going. He REALLY likes the braking function! Oh, and he thinks his helmet is cool too. He looked more like a little skater boy to me.

Sunday we partied at the Splash Pad in Gardendale and that was so cool! It's free, and it's chlorinated water and it kept Braden busy for the entire 3 hrs that we were there. We had so many people show up and I can't believe that we had ANY pizza left. Braden, Hunter & Ben worked diligently at opening the presents together. They were so cute! We're very lucky to have so many people who care about us. We're definitely blessed!

Well, tomorrow is the actual day. Braden will be four years old. I feel conflicted. I'm so happy that my baby is growing up healthy & strong and he's learning so much. He makes me very proud to be his mommy. Yet, he's not a baby anymore. At All... I know that God sent him to me for a reason, and I hope I make Him proud by how I raise my little man, but I just wish I could rewind time to hold him as a baby for a little while. And then maybe I'd like to see him taking his first steps again. Even at this very moment I can turn my head and watch Brady color a picture and I know that this too is another moment I'll never get back. I love Braden more than I ever thought I could love another person. I know that's cliche, but I also know that it's so terribly true. Every cliche thing about motherhood that your mom ever told you, yeah, it's pretty much the absolute truth and it's something you can never truly understand until you feel it for yourself. If you never experience it, you'll never realize what you've lost out on...Well, I'm going to get back to those moments I'll never get back and quit rambling and whining to everyone out there.

Tomorrow is another big day, tomorrow we turn four and we have to go visit all the race cars at Talladega!